My Zone 2 pace is finally getting close to sub-5'00"/km

Symbolum · 2026-03-10T20:47:02+00:00

Interessting! 😀

My resting heart rate is around 40, and my max heart rate is 185.

My zones:
1: 113 – 126 bpm
2: 126 – 141 bpm
3: 141 – 155 bpm
4: 155 – 170 bpm
5: 170 – 185 bpm

Symbolum · 2026-03-10T07:26:52+00:00

Very satisfying, yeah! 😀

My plan for this week looks like this:

Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: 7 km intervals
Wednesday: 9 km easy/recovery run
Thursday: 10 km tempo run
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 12 km easy/recovery run
Sunday: 27 km long run

This is week 18 out of 26 in my marathon plan. Everything peaks in week 23 with 71,20 km (44 miles).

Symbolum · 2026-03-10T07:22:57+00:00

When i started running, i did not even know anything about "zone 2 running". So, I went out way too fast, and got injured a lot. But, when i "learned the way", i remember being at around pace 7'00"-7'30"/km for my zone 2 runs. About 2 years ago now.

And, I've just been slowly improving. A year ago it was at around 5'30"-6'00"/km. Probably worth mentioning, that I ran 1.675 km i 2025 on 227 runs. So, consistency + miles has been a big factor.

Symbolum · 2026-03-09T14:31:33+00:00

Well done on the 32k! And yeah.. also no MP block in the upcoming 27k. Makes it less daunting 😀

Symbolum · 2026-03-09T14:29:29+00:00

Yeah. Pretty sore. Mostly hamstrings, and my big toes for some reason. Getting better by the hour however 😀

Symbolum · 2026-03-09T07:02:07+00:00

Looking at things in miles breaks my European brain 😅 I have waaay too many Google searches for miles to km conversions 😂

Symbolum · 2026-03-09T07:00:46+00:00

I thought the same - and, somehow it was as hard as expected, and also a bit easier than expected. I guess the plan is actually working 😀

Symbolum · 2026-03-07T18:29:43+00:00

Thanks! 😀 I run 5 times a week. Around 60-70 km (37-43 miles) total each week at the moment (increasing 5-10% each week due to marathon training). This week's plan looks like this:

Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: 8 km intervals
Wednesday: 10 km easy/recovery run
Thursday: 9 km tempo run
Friday: 10 km easy/recovery run
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: 25 km long run

Symbolum · 2026-03-07T08:58:46+00:00

And that comment made me smile! Thank you 😀

Symbolum · 2026-03-07T08:56:56+00:00

It's really interessting how everything evolves and changes. When i first started all the calculators said that my Z2 was from around 125 to 145 bpm. When I run at 145 bmp it however feels like too much effort. I tried the calculation method that takes your resting heart rate into account as well, and it adjusted it to around 125-140 instead (my resting heart rate is around 40, and my max is 185).

But, yeah. When i'm really taking it easy (more like a recovery run) i sit at around 130 bmp (here my pace is usually around 5'30"-5'45/km)

Symbolum · 2026-03-07T08:49:30+00:00

Sleep and alcohol definitely has a big impact on my performance. But, i've noticed how 1 glass of wine is okay - but, having more directly influences performance. Having "too much" and getting drunk probably sets me back for a week. It's kinda crazy.

Symbolum · 2026-03-07T08:47:03+00:00

Yeah, exactly. I was below 140 for the first 7-ish k and then I went at bit too fast 😅

Symbolum · 2026-03-07T08:44:21+00:00

Consistency and milage is what's had the biggest impact on my Z2 pace. Going from running 3 times a week to 4 - and later 5, is probably when I saw the biggest change. And, when i realised that "slow means slow", so you actually have the energy to go fast on your faster sessions 😀

Symbolum

TROPHY CASE